Despite what the cultural zeitgeist tells us, being a founder or investor is a lot more grit than glamor. What’s more, many (if not all) of the people who share these titles are so in the depths of their work, it's less likely they're making much time to come up for air and invest in their own personal branding.
A personal website can help solve for this self-branding conundrum if it meets the following criteria:
- It's quick to stand up and update
- It's inclusive of all of your work, especially when it cannot be confined to a social media profile
- It can be holistic, making room for a your interests or passions in equal parts
So, what can that look like in reality?
Personal website inspiration for founders and investors
Here, we highlight a handful of sites from founders and investors on Polywork to offer up some guidance and inspiration.
Gerry Miles Newton (gerrynewton.com)
Gerry is founder of architecture studio 33 Nest and true to his multihyphenate portfolio, is also in property development. How do we know all this? Gerry takes advantage of his headline and badges to tell us everything we need to know right off the bat.
What’s more, Gerry balances the personal and professional throughout the rest of his profile, making use of the links and portfolio blocks to tell us more about his studio, examples of his architectural design work, and a photo of him carrying the Olympic torch, to boot.
Michelle Volz (volz.me)
Michelle is an investor in industries that include aerospace and defense, currently with Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and uses her personal website to share more about her profession and passions.
Highlights give us a glimpse into Michelle’s accolades, including her social media presence and penchant for completing marathons (more than 20, in fact!).
If that doesn't suffice, you're in luck — she leverages her links block to add even more insights into her running credentials.
Varun Gupta (varun.io)
For Varun, simplicity is the key to personal website success. The pre-seed and seed round investor with Caffeinated Capital gives viewers everything they need to know above the digital fold (a helpful tactic for mobile-first audiences) and jumps right into his portfolio below.
And whether you’re on a desktop or mobile device, you probably have too many tabs open. That’s what makes Varun’s subtle, but thoughtful decision to include a unique favicon for his site makes a world of difference in our tab-heavy existences.
Final thoughts
Need more guidance on building a personal website in Polywork? Check out the following resources:
- Building your website in Polywork
- Inspiration from marketing professionals
- Thinking about personal website SEO? Here’s our guide